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Emby for Android TV - Better, basic remote control support


FordGT90Concept

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FordGT90Concept

So these Leelboxes work great with Emby for Android TV but there's a problem: the controller/app doesn't really allow for basic DVR capability while playing back.

 

The remote is pictured well here:

https://www.amazon.com/Leelbox-android-installed-Amlogic-Android/dp/B013DONLX2

 

61yA1RDng6L._SL1500_.jpg

 

What I'd recommend during playback is:

D-Pad Up/Down = change channel (disabled when playing back a recording)

D-Pad Left = jump back 10 seconds

D-Pad Right = jump forward 30 seconds

OK = pause

 

See the guide button to the lower left of the D-Pad? Make that button open up the on-screen display and the D-Pad behave as it does now.

 

 

Better yet, and for maximum compatibility, allow users to press a key, and Emby record it, for defining the button to open the on-screen display switching the behavior of the D-Pad. This is useful for remotes that don't have that specific info button.

Edited by FordGT90Concept
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95% of users do not have a remote like that which is why some of those things aren't already there but we can look at them.

 

However, the last three you requested (left/right/ok) all should work now.  At least, they do on the Nexus and Shield.  Left/Right do not on the Fire TV because it has dedicated jump forward/back buttons. 

 

As for changing the channel with up/down, I'm not a fan of that because it would mean that button would behave differently in Live TV than it does everywhere else.  Plus, there isn't really a good context of "channel up" and "channel down" these days.  At least not on devices like this.

 

P.S.  That remote really has no transport controls...?

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FordGT90Concept

I think a lot more users have these kinds of remotes than you think. These boxes are only $30-40 each and they get the job done except for having a crappy remote.

 

The problem with left/right is that it jumps to the beginning or end of the recording rather than only x seconds. OK to pause works.

 

The up/down context would be set from the guide. That said, if this change were implemented, it would have to delay to tune so that the user can get on the right channel before it actually tries to obtain data from the tuner (allows fast browsing of the channels/title info from the guide).

 

What you see is what it has.

 

The remotes are interchangeable between boxes so they're uniform in terms of control. My Inteset 422 was able to learn the functions off it. The Inteset 422 has transport controls but I have not found any means to program it use them since I have nothing to learn them off of.

Edited by FordGT90Concept
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The problem with left/right is that it jumps to the beginning or end of the recording rather than only x seconds. OK to pause works.

 

That sounds like an issue with seeking that particular item.  Do you have on-screen jump forward and back buttons?  Do they behave the same?

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FordGT90Concept

If it matters, the stream was recording live and at that point, it was running into the negatives on the time on the right. That might actually be a bug.

Edited by FordGT90Concept
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  • 2 weeks later...
FordGT90Concept

So I had some more time to play with this and overall, the controls are good. My only complaint is that, if you pause a recording, you can't jump forward/backwards until the OSD goes away (5 seconds I think?). I think the remote pictured provides an excellent solution to this problem: see the info button to the left and below the D-pad? How about make that open/close the OSD panel at the bottom? That way if you really want to jump and don't want to wait, you can hit that button to make the OSD go away so you can jump away. It would also be nice to open the OSD without pausing it to see what is playing/how much time is remaining. Presently, that button does nothing in Emby for Android TV.

 

Edit: I'm willing to install an app that will tell you what code that button uses if you're not sure how to capture it. I have no idea what app would tell me though. These Leelboxes are rooted with dev mode available.

Edited by FordGT90Concept
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Either the up or down button will produce the OSD without pausing the video.

 

You can also dismiss the OSD with the back button at any time

 

Finally, there should be actual buttons on the OSD for jump forward and back...

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FordGT90Concept

Hmm, okay.

 

Also, that button works in live TV to open up the guide. It does nothing on a recording.

 

 

I noticed the behavior of the remote is very different for live TV. I mean, like, completely different. Two things stood out:

 

1) Pressing the OK button on the remote, instead of pausing like a recording, it opens a list of channels and their current progress through their respective programs.

 

2) It appears impossible to jump past commercials or jump back to catch something you missed. Instead of jumping, it moves the cursor on the OSD.

Edited by FordGT90Concept
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Hmm, okay.

 

Also, that button works in live TV to open up the guide. It does nothing on a recording.

 

What is "that button"?

 

 

I noticed the behavior of the remote is very different for live TV. I mean, like, completely different. Two things stood out:

 

1) Pressing the OK button on the remote, instead of pausing like a recording, it opens a list of channels and their current progress through their respective programs.

 

2) It appears impossible to jump past commercials or jump back to catch something you missed. Instead of jumping, it moves the cursor on the OSD.

 

It is not currently possible to pause or seek in live TV.  That is something we are working on.  However, jumping past commercials on true LIVE TV would be a neat trick ;).

 

The quick channel changer is brand new in this beta and, once it is possible to pause Live TV it probably will not come up with the select button anymore.  I'll have to find another quick way.

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FordGT90Concept

The button to the left and below the D-Pad in the picture.

 

 

What my mom likes to do is turn on what she intends to watch (e.g. news program) and then pause it. She'll come back to it 15-30 minutes later and watch the parts she wants to watch and jump past the commercials and parts she doesn't want to watch until she reaches live and then, often, pauses it again. More delayed or deferred TV rather than live.

 

The Dish Network (EchoStar) ViP722k records up to 1 hour of live TV. You can move anywhere inside of that hour (forward and back), go back too far and you can no longer pause because the hour will keep pushing you forward at the rate of live. Obviously you can't go forward past live either.

 

 

To be honest, I can't see myself (or anyone here) using the "quick channel changer." DVR functions are most important, most certainly. The picture-in-guide mode would be my preference and that was brought up by the button to the left and below the D-Pad.

Edited by FordGT90Concept
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The button to the left and below the D-Pad in the picture.

 

That is a "menu" button and it sounds like it is already operating as designed.

 

Going back to your original request here, I think we already support everything you were asking for (from a remote control perspective).

 

As I said before, the ability to time-shift or "trick play" live TV is not supported in any Emby app yet but we are actively working on it (it actually can be tested with the current dev server and the web app).

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